News Media Stuck 80 years in the Past

[jamie001]

If you are a white collar worker, take a look at your presentation at work. If you wear skirts and other feminine clothing to work, then kudos to you! On the other hand, if you wear pants to work, at least 90 percent of you do not wear a suit and tie. Men have moved away from the suit and tie stuffy look and adopted a more casual look.

For the fun of it, I was watching some online news broadcasts from the 1940's and 1950's . Men that appeared on these news programs were always in a white shirt, coat and tie. There were no exceptions. Fast forward 80 years and the news anchor men are wearing the exact same outfit, while women's clothing has changed significantly! WTF!

The questions is "why don't the news anchor men adopt the fashion that 90 percent of professional men are wearing to work and drop the stuffy suits and ties? Do you realize how ridiculous it look in a new broadcast when the man is wearing a stuffy suit and tie with a white shirt while his female coanchor is wearing a sundress with exposed arms, plunging neckline, and open back? WTF! You would think that the men would at least be outfitted in business casual clothing like most professional men wear to work now-a-days.

The boldest outfit that I have seen in a news broadcast is a man wearing a suit with a lavender shirt rather than the standard issue white shirt. Gasp! I wonder if viewers changed the channel in disgust!

So what does this have to do with skirt wearing? Actually a lot!!

The news media shapes the world for the general population whether we like it or not. The news media and their news anchors are doing their very best to keep men in the fashion prison of the 1940's while women essentially have carte blanche to wear and explore almost any fashions. How ridiculous does it look with two news anchors: The male is wearing a suit, white shirt, and conservative tie, while the woman is wearing in bright pink suit with a plunging neckline.

When will the new media start portraying professional men wearing the clothing that 90 percent of real professional men wear to work, at minimum nixing the neckties and stuffy look? If it ever happens, this will be the first step toward fashion freedom for men in the media.

It would be interesting to be reincarnated 100 years from now to see a TV news broadcast. I wonder if men will still be wearing the same stuffy suit and tie from the 1940's? The scary thing is that it is entirely possible!!

[ScotL]

How ridiculous does it look with two news anchors: The male is wearing a suit, white shirt, and conservative tie, while the woman is wearing in bright pink suit with a plunging neckline.

Me thinks the woman is also wearing the garment with the plunging neckline because the show knows what sells. Put a plunging neckline on a guy and you don’t improve the ratings.

[jamie001]

How ridiculous does it look with two news anchors: The male is wearing a suit, white shirt, and conservative tie, while the woman is wearing in bright pink suit with a plunging neckline.

Me thinks the woman is also wearing the garment with the plunging neckline because the show knows what sells. Put a plunging neckline on a guy and you don’t improve the ratings.

You missed the point. I am not advocating the plunging neckline on the guy. The guy should be able to get rid of the suit and dress like a normal professional san the suit and tie. Baby steps...

[ScotL]

You missed the point. I am not advocating the plunging neckline on the guy. The guy should be able to get rid of the suit and dress like a normal professional san the suit and tie. Baby steps...

No, I got your point. It’s a point I’ve made also in the past. Men should be free to wear whatever they like.

I’m just adding the twist that women’s clothing on the television news isn’t exactly what the women
want to be wearing, but is what a lot of men want the women to be wearing.

And on this cafe, what some of the men want to be wearing!

[Coder]

And on this cafe, what some of the men want to be wearing!

[Ozdelights]

I fully agree but know that it is not only the media organisations. Breakfast news programming on the public broadcaster here has male presenters without ties. But they also get lots of feedback from viewers saying they should wear ties. I suspect mostly it is from a very vocal minority. Fortunately so far sense has prevailed.Commercial broadcasters seem stuck. There are extremely few sports where participants wear suits and ties so why is a sports presenter wearing a suit and tie???? I know some sportswear is probably out of the question but surely a casual style is more appropriate.

[geron]

But men are still expected to wear a suit for formal occasions. If a studio news presenter were to dress casually, it would give the impression that the news itself was not being treated seriously.

[Jim]

But men are still expected to wear a suit for formal occasions. If a studio news presenter were to dress casually, it would give the impression that the news itself was not being treated seriously.

That, sadly, is how things are viewed. You will see the same thing in politics; the male candidates and officeholders almost always appear in boring suits & ties.

[jamie001]

But men are still expected to wear a suit for formal occasions. If a studio news presenter were to dress casually, it would give the impression that the news itself was not being treated seriously.

At the oscars here in America which is very formal, many males are tired of the archaic suit and tie and do their own take on formal wear. For example they will wear a colorful suit, colorful shirt sans tie, open neck with gold or pearl necklace, and other items. Most men are sick of the suit and tie and have taken it upon themselves to eliminate it in the workplace. I understand that even parliament has eliminated the requirement for neckties, but not in American congress. I wonder what would happen if a senator identified as nonbinary and refused to wear the tie and dressed in an androgynous manner.

I believe that the problem boils to the following:

1. Skin Phobia. Homophobes do not want to see skin on men including arms, legs, and chest. I am surprised that men aren't forced to wear gloves so their hands aren't visible.

2. Chest hair. If men go sans tie, no one wants to see chest hair, because it is gross! If men go sans tie, they should be required to shave or wax their chests. How in the heck could a man think that anyone wants to see gross chest hair? Same goes for tank tops. Nobody wants to see arm pit hair. It is gross. Nuff said.

The reason that women are allowed to wear sundresses on news broadcasts and other comfortable clothing is that people are not afraid of seeing skin of women. Clothing like sundresses or other clothing that exposes skin and have recategorized from casual to being ok for formal events. On the other hand, many men especially homophobes don't even want to see bare men's arms. Gasp! the horror

Homophobia is the reason dress codes for men do not evolve.

[GoSkirtGo]

I wonder what would happen if a senator identified as nonbinary and refused to wear the tie and dressed in an androgynous manner.

It probably depends on whether he still wants to present and be seen as "male" or not. (I'm using he/him pronouns since this hypothetical senator's motive is challenging a sexist dress code and not that he sincerely wants to transition.)

In other words, if you present as male you have to adhere to the "male" dress code, if you present as nonbinary you can mix-and-match the gendered rules all you want.

[moonshadow]

It probably depends on whether he still wants to present and be seen as "male" or not.

Politicians don't count as they're not even human.

I am surprised that men aren't forced to wear gloves so their hands aren't visible

Don't give them any ideas. Now that they've basically socially shamed and legislated the trannys [0] and queers out of existence, I wondered what our rulers would go after next...

The reason that women are allowed to wear sundresses on news broadcasts and other comfortable clothing is that people are not afraid of seeing skin of women

No, it's because women are eye candy. And you're right, people would rather look at a pile of dog sh!t than to see a man show too much skin.

It all comes down to carnal desires. Purty women will have the pick of the finest stock in men, and big burly macho men have their pick of the finest choice female flesh.

Natural section. Deep down, we're all just a bunch of savage animals, and that's why nobody likes a guy in a dress. The man has a defect and will breed defective children. Women don't want that.

It's all about the choice meat.

[0] I guess I'm allowed to say that since all they are known for is raping little children and bringing about the end of civilization.

[bikesaurus]

I don't think it's necessarily the news media stuck 80 years in the past, as much as it is a reflection on what our society considers the most conservative of clothing in formal settings. In other words, news anchors have to dress in a way that their clothing is not seen as distracting from the news. For men, that means suits and ties because virtually everyone accepts that.

There are plenty of other industries where men in suits is still the typical fashion. I worked as an IT person at a lawfirm in the '00s, and every male attorney wore a suit and tie. I got away with collared shirts and slacks, mostly because I spent half my day crawling under desks and plugging back in cables that someone kicked.

[Myopic Bookworm]

I got away with collared shirts and slacks, mostly because I spent half my day crawling under desks and plugging back in cables that someone kicked.

I have a friend who worked in IT hardware in the 1990s, and had to crawl under desks in a skirt because that was the dress code for female staff.

[crfriend]

I have a friend who worked in IT hardware in the 1990s, and had to crawl under desks in a skirt because that was the dress code for female staff.

Every so often I find myself crawling under things to plug stuff back in -- in a skirt, It's not much of a problem.

[Coder]

I have a friend who worked in IT hardware in the 1990s, and had to crawl under desks in a skirt because that was the dress code for female staff.

Every so often I find myself crawling under things to plug stuff back in -- in a skirt, It's not much of a problem.

True - but you have a choice, they might not have. I’m going to hazard a guess the dress code at that employer didn’t allow women to wear pants?